Commenting on the nature of true faith, the absolute importance of believing in the truth and not falsehoods, and the ramifications in our lives, two Latter-day Saint authors wrote the following:
True Faith
There is a pervasively popular philosophy in the world today that says it really does not matter what a person believes, just as long as he sincerely believes with all his heart and is loyal to that belief. “What’s right or one person may not be right for another; and what is true for many, may not be true for all.”
But truth is not relative. It is absolute. A fact either is true, or it is false. It is as simple as that.
In 1987, the Associated Press reported the capture of the legendary voodoo priestess, Alice Lakwena. At the height of her power, she commanded as many as 7,000 warriors who sang hymns as they marched into battle carrying only sticks and stones which they believed would explode like grenades. Although these soldiers fully expected that the oil which the priestess had rubbed on their chests would ward off army bullets, Ugandan government troops with modern weapons almost effortlessly mowed the believers down.
No one would doubt the strength of their conviction. Some would even call it faith. Was their faith different than Ammon’s? Were they less sincere? Were their mental powers of concentration weaker? Although the 7,000 warriors fervently believed in Alice Lakwena’s ability to save them, the fact is that she never did possess that power.
The first thing we learn about true faith is that it cannot be founded in false precepts. It can only be based on correct principles.
Another characteristic of true faith is that it will always motivate us to godly acts. The things in which we believe determine, to a large extent, what we will eventually become. For example, if we believe in false teachings, we will sooner or later engage in false or wicked practices. If another person is the focus of our faith, we will become disillusioned. If we put our faith in the power of money, we become greedy. If we have faith in no one but ourselves, we become self-centered and proud. Only if we place our faith in our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, can we become like Him. This is the essence of true faith.
When men begin to live by faith to draw near to God; and when faith is perfected they are like him . . . what constitutes the real difference between a saved person and one not saved is—the difference in the degree of their faith. (Lectures on Faith, pp. 62, 63).
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then, is the first principle of the gospel. It involves more than having a passive belief in Him. “Saving faith” is that principle of action which allows us to start down the road to salvation and allows us to accept the blessings of our Savior’s atonement. Only through faith, repentance and baptism in Christ’s name can we be forgiven of our past sins and have lost Spirit restored to us. Our Savior wants to share His Spirit with us. He wants His atonement to take effect in our lives. But we, through our own faith, are personally responsible or inviting that Spirit to unite with our spirits. Until we exercise sufficient faith in the Redeemer, we restrict His ability to bless us. Developing an abiding faith in Christ is the one way we can gain access to His Almighty Spirit. Jay Harris and Trudy Harris, Gaining the Fulness: The Spirit-Filled Path to Exaltation [Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers, 1989], 101-2)
